What is Smartwatch? (Types Explained)

Have you ever wondered what a smartwatch is?

Apart from telling the time, a small device that you and I wear on our wrists performs tasks like making calls, tracking health activities, etc.

If you also want to know what a smartwatch really is, keep reading this post.

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What is Smartwatch?

I can answer this question by defining a smartwatch, but I think you need to know more about this wearable device.

However, if you just want to know its definition, then –

Smartwatch is a touchscreen wearable computer used to perform many different tasks and tell time; it would not be wrong to call it a small smartphone version.

Before proceeding with this description of the smartwatch, I would like to tell you about its history.

History of Smartwatch

We’ve been seeing digital watches with capabilities like calculators and unit converters for decades, but some tech companies launched watches with smartphone-like capabilities in the 2010s.

Apple, Samsung, Sony, and other major players offered smartwatches to the consumer market, but the credit for such popularity goes to a small startup – Pebble.

Pebble launched its first smartwatch in 2013 and has sold nearly 1 million units, raising record funding.

Pebble's First Smartwatch — Source: The Verge

This popularity of smartwatches also opened doors for other brands.

Big global smartphone makers like Apple, Samsung, and Oneplus have made their name in this industry.

However, local Indian smartwatch brands like Fire-Boltt and Noise are dominating the Indian smartwatch market.

Types of Smartwatch

When I was researching smartwatches, I came across many such articles which had divided smartwatches into many types:

General-use smartwatches
Classic smartwatches
Fitness focused smartwatches
Rugged smartwatches
GPS smartwatches
Sports smartwatches
Waterproof smartwatches
Women smartwatches
And many more

But is it appropriate to divide a smartwatch into so many types?

I think, no.

In my experience, there are only two types of the smartwatch:

Design-based smartwatches
User-based smartwatches

Design-Based Smartwatches

The first type of smartwatch is design-based.

A smartwatch is mainly available in two types of designs:

Round dial
Square dial

We have already discussed these in the Round vs Square smartwatches guide, so here we will not go into details; for more information, you can take the help of the above guide.

But yes, you can check out these top round smartwatches and square smartwatches for some ideas.

Let’s talk about the next one.

User-Based Smartwatches

The second and most important type of smartwatch is user-based.

User-based smartwatches are designed for a specific segment of users.

There is no doubt that one smartwatch cannot satisfy the needs of all users.

You cannot sell the smartwatch under the waterproof feature if someone needs the calling feature.

You can also divide them based on features like:

I have already published numerous guides about these feature-based smartwatches on the site.

In short, a smartwatch can be classified based on its design and its features.

What Can A Smartwatch Do?

This question often comes to mind: What can a smartwatch do?

However, it isn’t easy to give an exact answer to this question because every day, some new feature is introduced to smartwatches.

But you can assume that a smartwatch works much like a smartphone.

With a smartwatch you –

Can receive notifications
Can listen to your favorite music
Can download third-party apps
Can use Alexa or Siri
Can track route with GPS
Can monitor your health
Can check your sleep quality
Can receive or make calls
Can track sports activities etc.

Apart from these, dozens of other features are provided in a smartwatch, so we call a smartwatch a mini smartphone.

And if you’re fascinated by these features, here is a guide on smartwatch features.

Future of Smartwatch

When a smartwatch offers so many features, what will be its future? Have you ever had this thought in your mind?

When I researched it, I found that smartwatches are being liked a lot, not only in India but worldwide.

Here is proof of the worldwide trend of smartwatches over the five years.

Earlier, when people used to buy traditional watches, now they preferred to go for smartwatches.

In the future, you will see the market for smartwatches growing more and more; apart from smartwatches, people will buy only mechanical luxury watches.

According to a report by Market Research Future, the smartwatch market size will reach around USD 109.28 Million by 2027.

That said, you can infer that smartwatches will be the future of wearable devices.

What is Smartwatch: FAQs

What is the purpose of a smartwatch?

The purpose of a smartwatch is to make daily life easier with the help of useful features (like instantly responding to messages, receiving or making calls, health tracking, etc.).

How many types of the smartwatch are there?

In my opinion, there are two types of smartwatches; First, those which are design-based, like round or square, and second, which are user-based.

More Resources:

What is Smartwatch? (Types Explained)